What do Bertrand Russell, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill, John Wesley, Teddy Roosevelt, Alexis de Tocqueville, and John Quincy Adams, have in common?

They all saw islam for what it is.

INSTEAD OF CAMPAIGNING, OBAMA SHOULD GO ON ANOTHER APOLOGY TOUR - THIS TIME IN THE USA...

... AND HE SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR HIS DISASTROUS TERM IN OFFICE.

THEN LEAVE THE SCENE QUIETLY, AND GO BACK TO HAWAII.

OR CHICAGO. OR INDONESIA. OR KENYA.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADY MAGGIE!

MORE HERE.

VIDEO: BILL KRISTOL UTTERLY DEMOLISHES OBAMA'S BENGHAZI DEFENSE

EITHER OBAMA AND BIDEN AND HILLARY KNEW THAT THE ASSAULT ON OUR CONSULATE IN BENGHAZI WAS A TERRORIST ATTACK - 

(AS THE STATE DEPARTMENT BUREAUCRATS TESTIFIED THEY THEMSELVES KNEW IN REAL-TIME, AS THE ATTACK WAS UNFOLDING) - 

AND WERE LYING TO PROTECT THEIR OWN PERSONAL POLITICAL CAREERS, 

OR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS DANGEROUSLY DISORGANIZED, INCREDIBLY INEPT AND MALFUNCTIONING IN ITS MOST BASIC RESPONSIBILITY.

WATCH KRISTOL NOW!

MORE PROOF OBAMA IS A SHAMELESS EMBARRASSMENT TO OUR NATION

ABC NEWS:

President Obama appeared on the Miami radio station Y100 Friday,  where he weighed in on the Mariah Carey v. Nicki Minaj feud, was asked whether Vice President Joe Biden should shave his head to look more authoritative, and said he should have brought up Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” video tape during the presidential debate because “the media’s attention span is fairly short.” 

The president spoke with DJ Michael “Yo” Simmons, the self-billed “Half-Black Brother with a Korean Mother” who also does stand-up and serves as a celebrity correspondent on E! News.

(LISTEN TO OBAMA CHIT-CHAT HERE)

THE WORLD IS SUFFERING SEVERAL CRISES OF GREAT SERIOYSNESS AND OBAMA FOLLOWS UP HIS APPEARANCE ON THE VIEW AND ON PIMP WITH A LIMP WITH THIS!?!?

YES: OBAMA IS A MISERABLE FAILURE - BECAUSE HIS POLICIES ARE AWFUL.

BUT IT'S WORSE THAN  THAT.

HE'S ALSO EMBARRASSING.

HE'S AN EMBARRASSMENT TO OUR NATION.

(OTHERS WEIGH IN HERE.)

LOOKING BACK AT THE MCCAIN-OBAMA TOWNHALL IN 2008: MCCAIN CORRECTLY NAILED THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS - AND TIED OBAMA TO IT, BUT OBAMA LIED AND COZIED UP TO THE VOTERS

I THINK ROMNEY WILL HANDLE THE TOWNHALL DEBATE ENVIRONMENT BETTER THAN MCCAIN DID. 

AND OBAMA'S FAILURE TO DELIVER ON HIS PROMISES WILL MEAN HE WILL HAVE TO BE DEFENSIVE THE WHOLE TIME.

THE ONLY WAY OBAMA CAN GET OFF THE DEFENSIVE IS TO ATTACK ROMNEY, SO I EXPECT A LOT OF THAT, TOO. 

THE COMBINATION OF PERSONAL DEFENSIVENESS AND ATTACKING ROMNEY WILL TURN OFF VOTERS.

LADY TALMUDISTS

Here's an inspiring report about women's Torah studies gaining ground in Israel:

Only several decades ago it would have been unthinkable for women to learn Talmud within Orthodox circles. The prevailing notion, which still holds sway over considerable portions of the haredi community, is that women have no place within the halls of Torah study and that their place is in the home. However, over the last few decades, and especially since the gains made by the feminist movement in bringing women into the workplace and academia on equal standing with men, Jewish women, both observant and not, have begun to study Torah on their own terms.

In the more modern Orthodox mixed-gender high schools of the northeastern United States, it is now not uncommon to have boys and girls sitting together in lectures on talmudic law and philosophy, while a small but growing number of women’s schools in Israel are providing talmudic education to their students. [...]

While in the US, the modern and centrist Orthodox movements believe in Talmud study as an important, if not central, part of a young woman’s education, such ideas are not as widespread among their Israeli counterparts, the national religious.

It is important, therefore, to note that many of those who have worked to push Talmud study for women in Israel have been American immigrants.

And they should be praised for their efforts. Just like standard history studies, Torah studies are equally important for women.

Update: a semi-related article about women who work on writing Torah scrolls.

VICTIMS OF JIHADISM SPEAK OUT

Atlas Shrugs writes about how the people most supportive of her anti-jihad campaign are those most affected by it, including Dr. Naftali Moses, who runs this site and will be giving a speech on November 4 at Young Israel of New Hyde Park.

PAN-ARAB LAWYERS' UNION GIVES HIGHEST AWARD TO SUICIDE BOMBER WHO KILLED 21

The Arab Lawyers Union [ALU] on Friday honored the Palestinian woman who carried out the 2003 suicide bombing at Maxim's Restaurant in Haifa by awarding her the highest decoration to ever be granted by the union. Twenty-one people were killed and 51 injured in the attack, which was carried out by Hanadi Jaradat, a law student from Jenin who was due to qualify as a lawyer in a few weeks. 

She was the sixth female suicide bomber during the second intifida.
The Cairo-based union, which represents lawyers from 15 Arab countries, dispatched a delegation to the home of Hanadi Jaradat in Jenin to present them with the award.

THESE ARE A FEW OF HER VICTIMS:

THIS IS ONE OF THE MANY GRAPHIC IMAGES TAKEN AFTER THE BODIES WERE CLEARED FROM THE SCENE OF THE ATTACK:

THIS PROVES THAT ARABS - EVEN SOMEWHAT EDUCATED ONES -   ARE MOSTLY SAVAGES AND PROVES THAT MANY OF THE ARABS WHO AREN'T SAVAGES THEMSELVES SUPPORT THE SAVAGERY OF THE SAVAGES.

RIGHT ON CUE: ZAWAHIRI GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP OBAMA

YUP:

The leader of Al Qaeda is encouraging Muslims to wage holy war against the United States and Israel in response to a film that insulted Islam's Prophet Muhammad. 

Ayman al-Zawahri, in an audio message released by Al Qaeda’s media arm As-Sahab early Saturday, claimed Washington allowed the film’s production under the pretext of freedom of expression, but added that “this freedom did not prevent them from torturing Muslim prisoners.”

IT'S AS IF THEY WANT HIM RE-ELECTED.

I MEAN IT.

WHY? SIMPLE: I LOOK AT THE RESULTS OF OBAMA'S ACTIONS.

AS A DIRECT RESULT OF OBAMA'S ACTIONS IN 2009, MUBARAK WAS DISCARDED AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TOOK OVER EGYPT.

THEY'D BEEN TRYING - UNSUCCESSFULLY - FOR 80 YEARS TO TAKE OVER EGYPT, AND FAILED FOR 80 YEARS.

BUT OBAMA ACHIEVED IT IN 3.

AND ZAWAHIRI WAS A LEADER OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN EGYPT BEFORE GOING TO AFGHANISTAN.

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LOVES OBAMA.

AND ZAWAHIRI IS PART OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

SO HE'S PROBABLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE HIS ALLY - OBAMA - GETS RE-ELECTED. IN THIS  CASE, BY BUTTRESSING OBAMA'S EXPLOITATION OF THE MOHAMMED MOVIE.

UPDATE: ALSO NOTE THIS: LIKE ZAWAHIRI, MANY MEMBERS OF OBAMA'S FAMILY ARE NOT JUST MUSLIMS, BUT WAHHABISTS.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

BRRRRRRR!: AUSTRALIA HAS ITS COLDEST WINTER DAY IN 40 YEARS!

Snow has fallen on Melbourne's surrounding hills in the coldest October day in 40 years.

IOW: AGW = BS.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY - AND DEMAND AN END TO SUBSIDIES TO THE SO-CALLED "GREEN ECONOMY".

SWEDISH FINANCE MINISTER : GREECE WILL PROBABLY EXIT EURO IN 6 MONTHS

Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said Greece may quit the common currency within the next six months. 

“It’s most probable that they will leave,” Borg said today on a conference call from Tokyo, where global finance officials have gathered for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund. “We shouldn't rule out this happening in the next half-year.”

THAT WILL BE THE END OF THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE EURO, AND THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE END OF THE EURO.

THIS PART WILL BE ROCKIER THAN THE FIRST PART - BUT WILL, IN THE END, BE BETTER FOR GREECE, EUROPE AND THE FREE WORLD.

YUCH: I THINK I'LL SWITCH TO STARKIST AND CHICKEN OF THE SEA FOR THE NEXT YEAR OR SO

Bumble Bee tuna plant employee dies after accidentally being cooked in oven.

DURING THE SO-CALLED DEBATE, BIDEN ACTUALLY INTERRUPTED RYAN 85 TIMES IN LESS THAN 40 MINUTES

THE DEBATE WAS 90 MINUTES.

THAT INCLUDED THE TIME OF THE MODERATOR AND CLOSING STATEMENTS.

AND EACH CANDIDATE GOT ROUGHLY 1/2 OF THE REMAINING TIME.

THAT MEANS RYAN ACTUALLY HAD ONLY 40 OR SO MINUTES.

AND BIDEN INTERRUPTED HIM 85 TIMES - (VIDEO COMPILATION WITH TRACKING METER).

THAT'S MORE THAN ONCE EVERY 30 SECONDS!

WHY?

TO PREVENT THE TRUTH FROM REACHING THE VIEWERS.

IF BIDEN COULD HAVE MADE THE CASE COGENTLY AND CALMLY, IN A REASONED AND MATURE MANNER, THEN HE WOULD HAVE.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

BIDEN MAKES THE CASE FOR OBAMA... AGAIN

THAT'S AN ACTUAL QUOTE.

STORYBOOK IS RIGHT:
THE IDEA THAT THIS INEXPERIENCED,
HARD-CORE LEFT-WING NARCISSIST
COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE PRESIDENT OF THE USA
WAS ALWAYS 

PURE UNADULTERATED FANTASY AND DELUSION.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

NANCY REAGAN AND MITT ROMNEY VERSUS AYERS, PUTIN, CHAVEZ AND OBAMA

OBAMA SENDS BILLIONS TO PAKISTAN, BUT REFUSED TO GIVE BENGHAZI ANY MARINES

AS BIDEN SAYS: IF YOU WANT TO SEE SOMEONE'S VALUE LOOK AT THEIR BUDGET:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informed congress today that she is bypassing legal restrictions that would have blocked some $2 billion in U.S. economic and military aid to Pakistan. 

Disbursing the funds, she said in an official notice, is “important to the national security interests of the United States.”

AND DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THE MALARKEY ABOUT HOW THE GOP IS RESPONSIBLE BECAUSE THEY CUT THE BUDGET:

BECAUSE HE FAILS THE BASIC TEST, BIDEN IS UNFIT FOR HIS OFFCE

THE QUESTION IS: WHO SELECTED AND AUTHORIZED SUSAN RICE TO APPEAR ON ALL THOSE SUNDAY TALK SHOWS AND WHO BRIEFED HER?

THE QUESTION IS:

WHO SELECTED AND AUTHORIZED SUSAN RICE TO APPEAR ON ALL THOSE SUNDAY TALK SHOWS AND WHO BRIEFED HER?

GET RICE UNDER OATH AND MAKE HER TELL US.

THEN SUBPOENA HER BRIEFER.

Ahnold, Sly, and Bruce

(photoshop)

ONE GROUP OF SOCIALISTS GIVES ANOTHER GROUP OF SOCIALISTS A PRIZE: NOBEL PEACE PRICE GIVEN TO EUSSR

THIS IS LIKE GIVING THE CAPTAIN OF THE TITANIC A MEDAL FOR SEAMANSHIP AFTER HE'S HIT THE ICEBERG.

NOT SURPRISING COMING FROM THE FOLKS WHO GAVE OBAMA A PEACE PRIZE BEFORE HE'D DONE ANYTHING.

LEFTISTS ARE IDIOTS. INSANE IDIOTS.

ROMNEY-RYAN VERSUS OBAMA-BIDEN IS LIKE BATMAN AND ROBIN VERSUS BIG BIRD AND THE JOKER

KIDDING ASIDE:

OBAMA AND BIDEN HAVE NOT GOVERNED WELL 

AND THEY DON'T DESERVE ANOTHER 4 YEARS.

NEW ISRAELI ELECTION WILL TAKE PLACE JANUARY 22, 2013

Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to go for an early election:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday chose January 22, 2013 as the date for Israel's 19th general elections.

The date was designated on a memo circulated by the Prime Minister's Office regarding proposed legislation to dissolve the Knesset, expected to be tabled to the Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs on Sunday.

Netanyahu ignited an expedited election campaign Tuesday night when he called for early elections to take place.

In a statement delivered at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that after completing a round of meetings with his coalition partners, he concluded he could not pass the 2013 state budget and has no choice but to initiate elections.

“My obligation as prime minister is to put the national interest above all else, and therefore I decided that the good of Israel requires going to elections now, as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said.

According to two public opinion polls published Thursday, Netanyahu stands to be the biggest beneficiary of his own decision to call early elections.

One poll, commissioned and published by Maariv, saw Netanyahu's Likud increasing its seats in the Knesset to 29, up from 27. A second Haaretz poll projected a Likud-led coalition comprised mostly of religious and nationalist parties increasing to a commanding majority of 68 seats, up from 66.

I think there's at least 2 reasons the election is being called early: one, because he's not sure if Romney will win the election, and so this could make for a worthy insurance policy, and two, because the Hasidic parties like Shas and UTJ wouldn't guarantee their cooperation in passing the state budget without strings attached, which could've been demanding state funding for the former's yeshivas, for example. And Netanyahu shouldn't have to be held hostage to Shas' demands, which are more along the lines of socialism and entitlement, something that one of their former members, Chaim Amsalem, thought should be changed.

We'll see just how well all this works out.

Update: security concerns over Iran's nuclear threats are another reason why the election is being held early (Hat tip: Big Peace).

HAREDI "MODESTY SQUADS" ARE TRYING TO DICTATE HOW MACHANE YEHUDAH'S MARKET BE RUN

There is a problem once again with Haredim trying to annoy and insult people's intellects, this time at the famous outdoor market in Machane Yehudah. First, there's this story of a "chastity squad" that tried to boss women whose dress wasn't up to their absurd beliefs:

The crowd includes four ultra-Orthodox women in their 50s. The temperature outside has reached 32 degrees centigrade, but they don't mind. They're here on a mission.

One of them approaches a woman who shops at the market once a week. The woman, wearing a tank top and jeans, has her full attention on the tomato box. The haredi woman touches one of her bare arms. The woman turns around and the haredi woman immediately snaps at her, pointing at her bare arms: "Next time don't come to the market like this. Next time you'll come with sleeves."

The woman in the tank top tries not to appear insulted and looks at the other haredi women. One of them approaches a young woman in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. "Next time cover yourself," she orders her.

The haredim have been targeting Mahane Yehuda Market for quite a while. The patrol unit, which began touring the market alleys in recent weeks, is the result of growing haredi involvement in the area in the past 18 months.

The reason for their growing interest is the fact that the market is gradually becoming a multi-cultural center, a pilgrimage site for youngsters, visitors and tourists and a nightlife hot spot for many in the city.

The ultra-Orthodox battle was launched a year ago, when they declared war on the market area and the street parties held in the city center throughout the summer, claiming that the revival of the city center was creating lawlessness and harming their children's education.

That's mighty rich considering the bad example they're setting by harrassing people in a public setting over trivial matters. Some "education" they're giving their own children by acting vaguely similar to Islamic mutawas.

Creating fearful atmosphere

The market merchants were shocked by the presence of the chastity squads, which they referred to as "an escalation" in the haredi conduct. "We won't have it. Such a chastity squad is intolerable and is a red line for us," said Shimon Darwish, head of the Mahane Yehuda Merchants Association.

"They are trying to create a fearful atmosphere and prevent people from coming to the market. We'll do everything in our power to find out who these women are. It won't be a problem to trace them. There are security cameras in the market and I plan to check who they are and make it clear to them that there is no place for them in the market."

Darwish added that he planned to patrol the market in order to prevent the phenomenon and make it clear to the chastity squad women that there is no room for them there.

"It's a private initiative, likely by haredi women," he said. "And yet, we won't ignore it. I plan to hold a comprehensive discussion on the matter, beyond the market's leadership. This must be taken care of."

Yaron Tzidkiyahu, the owner of Tzidkiyahu Delicacies and one of the market's most famous merchant, sees a link between the haredi women and the different chastity squads operating in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.

"The haredim are trying to test our boundaries. That's the way I see it. Naturally, we have no intention of giving in, and we'll show them the way out. The market is multi-cultural and we won't let the haredim interfere in what is happening here and set the tone," he said.

The different chastity squads have been trying in recent years not to get involved in any acts that could be considered criminal. According to Elhanan Buzaglo, a former activist in such a squad, "You must distinguish between women asking other women to dress modestly and violence. Some may be making the request in an obscene manner – and that's their problem," he said.

According to Buzaglo, the women operating in the market "may have been to an encouragement lecture and decided to implement what they heard there."

Buzaglo added that as far as he knew, the chastity squads operated exclusively in haredi neighborhoods. "Their activity among the haredim brings them donations. Operating among the seculars won't bring them a penny, so they don't go there at all."

They shouldn't be operating even within haredi neighborhoods. That's nothing more than harrassment and abuse of public locations, turning it all into a turf war. The statement at the end of the article is laughable:

Buzaglo's view is shared by Yehoshua Ohev Shalom, an activist of the Committee for Purity in the Camp, who claimed to be unfamiliar with such organized activity but praised the women.

"If they strengthen women it's a good thing, isn't it?"

They're not strengthening women at all, they're only deepening the bad reputation the haredi community is now getting, and that's why it's not a good thing at all. What he's saying reeks of double-talk.

And the problem isn't over yet, as yesterday came news that another bossy haredi group has been making rounds at the market "urging" shopkeepers to close an hour before Shabbat:

The "Shabbat Alert" group has returned to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market. Eliyahu Schlesinger, rabbi of the Gilo neighborhood, arrives at the market every Friday about one hour before the start of Shabbat in order to urge merchants to shut down their stores.

Some of the merchants believe his actions are motivated by the upcoming elections for the Jerusalem Rabbinate.

The "Shabbat Alert" group was founded about 20 years ago by Rabbi Bezalel Goldschmidt. Every Friday, a group of haredi yeshiva students would arrive at the market to ensure that the stands are closed before the start of the Jewish day of rest.

As reported by the Yedioth Jerusalem newspaper, in the past the group got into a verbal confrontation with customers and merchants, which led to physical violence.

The association supporting the "Shabbat Alert" activity was terminated about a month ago, but Rabbi Schlesinger decided to revive the initiative.

According to the rabbi, since Israel installed Standard Time several weeks ago, Shabbat begins earlier and therefore he must ensure that the market is shut down without any desecration of the Shabbat.

"We don't shout at the merchants, but rush them politely," he claimed. "Some say to me, 'Rabbi, give me a blessing,' and I promise to do so if they shut down, and it works.

"But I am very angry at religious and haredi Jews who start shopping at the market just before Shabbat, creating a serious obstacle," he added.

In a public location that doesn't belong to you, rather than at your own home and synagogue? I'm not sure I see the logic here. A grocery store is a not synagogue.

Some of the merchants, however, are unhappy with the "Shabbat Alert" group. According to one of them, the rabbi's activity stems from political considerations.

"He is creating public relations for his activity among the haredim by going to the seculars in order to promote himself," argued the merchant.

One store even posted a picture on its wall showing haredim in their Shabbat clothes pushing a business owner onto the wall on the background of the market stands.

Asked about the merchants' claims that his conduct is political, Rabbi Schlesinger said: "We do it out of love for Israel and not for any other reason but to honor the Sabbath."

If it's really that important to him, he should stay away from the market altogether, since it's not his property. This is no more legitimate than racketeering, and no different from how an organized syndicate plied its trade during the Great Depression. My advice would be to get a restraining order against the rabbi's group (and the chastity clowns too, if needed), and see to it that they set up their own grocery stores and supermarkets rather than impose their demands on other merchants, who shouldn't be asking for a blessing from someone like him in the first place.

BIDEN'S BOMBASTIC AND IMMATURE AND CONTEMPTUOUS SMIRKATHON REVEALS A MAJOR DEEP FLAW OF THIS ADMINISTRATION: THEIR DISDAIN FOR ANY BIPARTISANSHIP

BIDEN'S DEMEANOR REVEALED WHY OBAMA FAILED TO REACH ACROSS THE AISLE AND FAILED TO HELP FOMENT A POST-PARTISAN ATMOSPHERE IN DC.

FOR PEOPLE LIKE OBAMA AND BIDEN AND JARRETT AND AXELROD (AND RAHM WHEN HE WAS THERE), THE GOP - LIKE THE TEA PARTY AND CONSERVATIVES - ARE A BUNCH OF TALIBAN-LIKE ANTI-ABORTION RACISTS OWNED BY THE KOCH BROTHERS.

IT'S A CARICATURE THAT'S HAS AS MUCH TO DO WITH REALITY AS THEIR BENGHAZI DEFENSE.

BIDEN WAS BOMBASTIC AND IMMATURE AND DEMONSTRATED WHY HE AND OBAMA ARE UNFIT FOR THE OFFICES THEY HAVE HELD.

BIDEN WAS BOMBASTIC IMMATURE AND DEMONSTRATED WHY HE AND OBAMA HAVE MADE OUR FISCAL SITUATION, OUR NATIONAL SECURITY, THE SECURITY OF THE FREE WORLD MUCH MUCH WORSE.

BIDEN AND OBAMA ARE INCOMPETENT LYING DEMAGOGUES.

ROMNEY AND RYAN ARE TEMPERATE SERIOUS MEN OF GREAT ABILITY, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE AND -  MERELY BASED ON THEIR TEMPERAMENTS AND AND TALENTS - THEY WILL JUST GOVERN BETTER.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

Update: Tobin agrees.

BIDEN SHOWS HOW NOT TO BEHAVE DURING A DEBATE

Last night, Biden consistently behaved as if a brat in junior high:


Comment from Nicoenarg, at this thread at Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

[W]atching this debate from Argentina and as a non American, I have to say that I felt disgusted by Biden's whole performance but specifically his condescending smile.

I've watched a lot of debates over the years and the only times I have seen that smile is when the debater has nothing to offer but wants to win by belittling the opponent.

These kinds of people do win support from their followers but turn off those who are with the opposition but more importantly those who were independent.

I think it was a great debate for democrats because their guy "shut Ryan up". But I think Biden might have pushed the independents away even more than Obama did in the first debate.

I concur with Nicoenarg.

In my view, Biden vacillated between a patronizing attitude and disruptive behavior.  Any points that he could have won on substance were largely negated by his juvenile behavior bordering on bullying.

Ryan, on the other hand, was a bit too wimpy at times.  Was he showing respect for his elder and respect for the office of Vice President?  Maybe.

I doubt that either Biden or Ryan won or lost any votes as a result of last night's debate.

QUESTION FOR JOE BIDEN: WHAT'S SO DAMN FUNNY!?

(TYPO FIXED)

DOUBLE WHAMMY: BIDEN LOOKS BETTER THAN OBAMA AND STILL LOSES TO RYAN!

HOW AWFUL IS OBAMA!?!?

JOE BIDEN LOOKED BETTER THAN OBAMA.

BUT NOT BETTER THAN  RYAN.

AS I SAID BEFORE DEBATE, "BIDEN IS A BLOWHARD."

THAT CAME ACROSS IN SPADES.

WZ: BIDEN INTERRUPTED RYAN 82 TIMES IN JUST 90 MINUTES!

BREITBART:

BREITBART VIDEO COMPILATION HERE.

THE HILL:

Biden's persistent laughing and smiling while Ryan spoke that prompted multiple parody Twitter accounts. 

MSNBC compared the laughing to the sighing of Al Gore during a debate in 2000, when Gore's reactions seemed to overshadow the content of the debate in later coverage. CNN's Piers Morgan seemed distracted by the smile, but later seemed to come around, saying Biden's expressions were infectious. ABC's Amy Walter didn't think the "laughing/smirking" worked at all, 

AND THIS IS EVERYWHERE:

 Biden - interrupting and smirking

CHRIS WALLACE:

I have to say I think I have watched almost every presidential and vice presidential debate since the first four Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960, and thinking back over the last few minutes I don’t believe I have ever seen a debate in which one participant was as openly disrespectful of the other as Biden was to Paul Ryan tonight. And that’s what it was. You can talk about the smirks, the smiles, the head-shaking, the mugging. He was openly contemptuous and disrespectful.

VIDEO VIA HOFT - WHO HAS MORE FROM GRETA AND BRIT:




OTB:

Joe Biden came in determined not to repeat Barack Obama's mistakes and was relentlessly aggressive, interrupting.

A COMPILATION FROM POLITICO:



POLLS WILL CONTINUE TO SHOW ROMNEY GAINING.

UPDATE: VIA HOT AIR:

ON NOVEMBER 6TH, SOCIALISM IN AMERICA ENDS

RYAN VERSUS BIDEN: THE REALITY VERSUS THE DELUSION

Biden is a blowhard who has been wrong about everything - every time. Where was he at 3AM when the call came in from Benghazi? Wasn't he supposed to "balance the ticket" and provide wise foreign policy advice? Did Obama ignore him? ignore his advice? or follow it?

BTW: Biden  was against the Osama raid.

Can anyone tell me one thing Buiden has done right or well since getting to the US Senate?

Nope.

Biden is nothing.

Ryan is the real thing.

THE RYAN REALITY

THE BIDEN DELUSION

EHUD BARAK AGREES TO HAND OVER HEVRON HOUSE TO JEWS, OR DOES HE?

The pretentious defense minister has decided to comply with ownership rights, but it's unclear if he'll really respect them:

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has agreed to give formal recognition to the purchase of Hevron's Peace House by Jews, and has instructed the Civil Administration accordingly. However, this does not necessarily mean that the residents of the house will be allowed to live in it anytime soon.

Barak's decision follows a September 13 decision by Jerusalem's District Court to approve the sale of the house to Tal Construction and Investments – Karnei Shomron.

Barak's bureau announced that the decision was reached after consultations with the Attorney General and Government Legal Advisor, and with the military administration of Judea and Samaria. However, Arutz Sheva has learned that Barak's move was timed to pre-empt a government move to force his hand.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in coordination with several Likud ministers, intended to bring to a cabinet vote Sunday a decision to instruct the military to approve the purchase. This would have left Barak no choice but to comply with the decision. He preferred, therefore, to make the move in a way that would not seem as if he had been forced.

It is still not clear whether Barak will allow the residents who lived in Peace House to enter it, however. Observers in Judea and Samaria explained that theoretically, the Defense Ministry and military could say that while the property belongs to Jews, they may not live there because doing so would create a security problem.

Translation: they don't have the courage to provide security, or they do wish to continue their contempt. It remains to be seen if they'll comply fully with what the court decided.

WHAT WOULD HENRY FORD THINK OF HAVING ISLAM IN DEARBORNISTAN TODAY?

Sarah Honig recently wrote about the problems with Islam in Dearborn and their desire for censorship of any criticism of the Religion of Rape:

It’s perhaps no quirk of fate that the latest episode in Dearborn’s annals is about protecting the honor of a prophet via anti-blasphemy laws – the draconian sort which proliferate in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other centers of Islamic enlightenment. It’s all along the lines of the international ban on anti-Islam speech proposed at the UN General Assembly by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood and darling of America’s own elected leader, Barack Obama.

This is hardly insignificant because the impetus for the outcry about the supposed insult to Muhammad’s repute was given by no other than Obama himself.

It was he and his administration’s mouthpieces who assiduously disseminated the insult-narrative as the pretext for Muslim violence worldwide. They repeatedly underscored, harshly condemned and profusely apologized for said insult – even if in the same breath they also sanctimoniously preached that rioting isn’t a proper response to what they nevertheless did portray as a genuine grievance.

[...] what Obama in fact does is appeal with superficial presumption to Muslim xenophobes, elevating their intransigence to undeserved equality with the West’s carte blanche tolerance.

Thereby Obama reinforces in his Muslim listeners the sense that they are actually wronged and deserve redress. At this point his entreaties for calm are lost in the tempest of unforgiving Islamic indignation which he helps stir up.

This perception of righteous resentment, accentuated by their own favorite president, brought Dearborn’s Muslims out for an extraordinary rally to urge that legal prohibitions be legislated against free speech, if that speech is deemed hurtful to “the religious feelings of Muslims.”

The inescapable subtext is a campaign to silence freedom of expression and effectively submit to Islamic censorship whatever is put out in the public domain.

Needless to stress, in the hallowed name of the First Amendment, America tolerated the massive Dearborn anti-First Amendment protest. It also turned a blind eye last June to the stoning of Christian demonstrators in Dearborn, the American city with the largest proportion of Arabs in its population (estimated at between 40 and 50 percent), as well as home to the nation’s largest mosque and Islamic center – and there are numerous other mosques and competing Islamic centers in Dearborn.

All that is bad enough, but what Honig says about their most notorious resident of the past is something I can't really agree with:

It’s a far cry from what Dearborn once was. The township was catapulted to prominence by Henry Ford, who was born and bred nearby (within today’s city limits), would make it his home, headquarter his automobile manufacturing conglomerate there and in it develop his innovative mass production concept, replete – for better and worse – with the conveyor belt and assembly line.

But Dearborn would imprint a heavy mark on humankind not only in terms of modern industry and labor relations. If Ford could posthumously catch a glimpse of this locale today, he’d apoplectically somersault in his grave. He serially conjured up doomsday visions of ogre Jews taking over WASP dominions. Yet in his direst nightmares he couldn’t imagine that Dearborn would become the most Arab of American cities.

Uh uh, I don't think he'd be particularly bothered about the Islamic takeover of Dearborn at all. Not just because the Arab-Islamic world collaborated in the Holocaust, which he condoned, but also because those who support savages like the nazis and their repulsive beliefs aren't so likely to have any problems with other savage ideologies along the same lines like the Religion of Rape. That's why I don't want to buy a Ford car or truck, nor do I want to buy Volkswagens for similar reasons. (And see this example of a military official who shunned the offer of a VW Passat).

For all we know, many Muslims might've gone to live in Dearborn because of admiration for a creature as revolting as Ford was. For now, what matters is that the city there has a very serious problem dwelling within its boundaries.

MALIK HASAN AND DHIMMI LAWYERS CONTINUE TO MAKE MOCKERY OF COURT SYSTEM

The mass murderer at Fort Hood and his lawyers are continuing to push the offensive narrative that he must be allowed to keep the beard he's grown even after he slaughtered innocent and defenseless soldiers:

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — An Army appeals court will hear arguments Thursday about an issue that has indefinitely postponed the murder trial for the suspect in the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military installation: his beard.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, charged in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas, has appealed the trial judge’s order that he will be forcibly shaved before his court-martial unless he shaves himself. Maj. Hasan, a psychiatrist, argues that the order violates his religious rights.

The American-born Muslim has said he grew a beard because his faith requires it and that he believes dying without a beard is a sin.

What about murdering innocents, including a pregnant woman? If this is what he thinks about growing beards, he would have done so years ago and not even bothered to join the army to begin with. His repulsive defenses ring hollow considering the violent crime he committed.

The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals at Fort Belvoir in Virginia will hear oral arguments. The court also will hear from government attorneys who have said that forcibly shaving Maj. Hasan would not violate his religious rights and that the judge has the authority to enforce the Army rule prohibiting beards. [...]

The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals said it also will consider whether the trial judge should be removed from Maj. Hasan’s case. Defense attorneys claim that the judge, Col. Gregory Gross, exceeded his authority by issuing the shaving order. His attorneys also want the court to overturn the six contempt of court rulings issued against Maj. Hasan for having a beard at pretrial hearings this summer, when he first showed up in court with facial hair.

Col. Gross has said that Maj. Hasan’s beard is a disruption and that defense attorneys have not proved that he is growing it for sincere religious reasons. Army prosecutors claim that Maj. Hasan grew the beard just before the trial was to start so that witnesses would not be able to identify him in court.

And their concerns are entirely legitimate. Religion cannot serve as a defense for someone who murders innocent people, and depending on the severity of a criminal offense, religious "privileges" should not be considered for them. As an example of a case where I believe no religious privileges should apply, let's take these cases of child abuse in the Haredi community in NYC. That the Satmar community, if any, opposed reporting them to authorities, is atrocious enough. But that aside, let's say that any offender of allegedly religious background suddenly grew a beard prior to the arraignment. I would not be against forcibly shaving his beard if a clear identification were need on the part of the witnesses, and the defendants should not try to hide behind Judaism - not even twisted versions - in an attempt to duck the law. The same goes for monsters like the murderer of Leiby Kletzky, whose name is Levi Aron, and should've received the death sentence for his repugnant crime. Whether or not the monster is observantly religious, if he didn't have a beard at the time he was on the loose, then if there's witnesses who could identify him, they should have a clear path for doing so, and the defendant cannot plead religious sensitivity in defense of a beard he can grow back after being slammed into a cold, dank cell post-trial.

So even Malik Hasan cannot and should not be allowed to pervert the justice system with his pathetic defenses that he must grow a beard when he didn't do so before.

Obama's Green Effort Spends $727K Per Job, Falls Short of Jobs Goal By a Factor of 173

MORE PROOF THE GREEN ECONOMY IS A SCAM RUN BY FOLKS TRYING TO PROFIT OFF CLIMATE ALARMISM AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO OBAMA AND CHICAGO: 

HOT AIR:

Today, Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Ira Boudway takes a look at the direct-subsidy program at the Department of Energy, funded with $21 billion in Obama stimulus cash thus far, and the jobs created by the program. After noting the paucity of independent data on this question, Boudway simply indicts the Obama administration with DoE’s own figures:

In 2008 candidate Barack Obama promised to create 5 million green jobs. He laid out a plan to invest $150 billion over 10 years that would advance a clean-energy economy built around biofuels, hybrid cars, low-emission coal plants, and renewable sources such as solar and wind. How many has he actually created? ….

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 set aside $90 billion in renewable energy grants and loans for a grab bag of thousands of projects—wind farms, solar installations, natural gas fueling stations, biofuel research, and a $5 billion weatherization project for low-income homes. Digging into the public records of the $21 billion spent so far through 19 U.S. Department of Energy programs reveals 3,960 projects that employ 28,854 people.

That’s not 5 million.

Obama spent $727K per job, and fell short of his jobs goal by 4.97 million jobs.

BREAKING: EMBASSY EMPLOYEE IN CHARGE OF SECURITY ASSASSINATED BY AL QAEDA IN YEMEN

NYTIMES:

Masked gunmen shot dead a Yemeni man on his way to work at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa on Thursday, a security source said, the latest in a wave of assassinations in the Arab state where Washington is battling al Qaeda militants.

The attackers on a motorcycle opened fire on a car carrying Qassem Aqlan - who headed an embassy security team - in the center of Yemen's capital, the source told Reuters.

"This (assassination) operation has the fingerprints of al Qaeda which carried out similar operations before," said the source who asked not to be named.

OSAMA IS DEAD, BUT AL QAEDA IS VERY MUCH ALIVE - AS WE RETREAT FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN BEQUEATHING THEM TO IRAN AND THE TALIBAN.

IOW: 

IF THE GOAL WAS MAKING US  SAFER, THEN OBAMA'S  ANTI-TERROR FOREIGN POLICY HAS BEEN A TOTAL FAILURE.

IF THE GOAL WAS STRENGTHENING THE ISLAMISTS GLOBALLY, THEN THE  POLICIES HAVE BEEN A GLOWING SUCCESS.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

VOTE ROMNEY-RYAN.

Catch 22 In Obama Land

If Joe Biden does badly in his debate against Paul Ryan, Obama's poll numbers will go down again.

If Joe Biden does better in his debate against Paul Ryan, than Obama did against Romney, Obama's poll numbers will go down again.

CAN BIDEN BE GAFFE-FREE FOR 90 MINUTES?

I DOUBT IT.

I THINK BIDEN'S GOING TO TRY TO SCARE PEOPLE - BY REFERRING TO THE RYAN PLAN A LOT, AND HE'LL ARGUE THAT ONLY HE AND OBAMA HAVE FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE.

I THINK BIDEN'S PANDERING SMARMINESS WILL COME THROUGH AND TURN-OFF INDEPENDENTS AND THE UNDECIDED VOTERS,  WHILE  RYAN'S COMMAND OF FACTS WILL IMPRESS THE INDEPENDENTS AND THE UNDECIDED VOTERS.

ROMNEY AND RYAN WILL GET A BOUNCE AND GO OVER 50% NATIONALLY.

OBAMA WILL BEGIN TO CRATER AND DOWN-TICKET DEMS WILL HEAD FOR THE TALL GRASS.

PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE THAT MUSLIMS ARE DESTROYING THE ANCIENT JEWISH HERITAGE AT THE TEMPLE MOUNT

THUS MUST NOT STAND.

OBAMA HAS BEEN A BIG BUST

MARK LEVIN:

IF OBAMA HAD FOUGHT AS HARD TO PROTECT OUR LIBYAN AMBASSADOR AS HE HAS FOR BIG BIRD, THEN OUR AMBASSADOR AND HIS AIDES WOULD BE ALIVE."

ME:

IF OBAMA HAD FOUGHT HALF AS HARD FOR THE UNEMPLOYED AND CHEAP ENERGY AS HE DID FOR OBAMACARE AND THE GREEN ECONOMY, THEN UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION MIGHT REALLY BE LOW.

OBAMA HAS BEEN A BIG BUST.

A BIG TURD.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

VOTE ROMNEY-RYAN.

OBAMA'S RING OF MORDOR

ACTUALLY,  SINCE HIS COLLEGE DAYS, OBAMA HAS WORN A GOLD RING INSCRIBED IN ARABIC THAT PROCLAIMS "THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH".

UPDATE: DUKE PROFESSOR CONFIRMS!

MUST SEE TV: CONGRESSMAN TREY GOWDY TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

SIMPLY PUT: TWO REPRESENTATIVES OF THIS ADMINISTRATION GAVE DEMONSTRABLY FALSE STATEMENTS ABOUT BENGHAZI TO CONGRESS; WE WERE LIED TO. 

THESE LIES SHALL NOT STAND.

UH-OH: SPAIN DOWNGRADED AGAIN

THE EURO DEBACLE ISN'T OVER.

A SHORT LIST OF THE LEGACY MEDIA MOLES FOR THE DEMOCRATS

[]HERE'S] a succinct summary [OF THE INCESTUOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEFTISTS OF THE LEGACY MEDIA AND THE DEMOCRAT PARTY], please see this excellent post from Red State's Erick Erickson which is more than just a recounting of recent revolving door spins, it is also a discussion of how the "conventional wisdom" in DC inevitably is liberal:

Neil King is a political reporter for the Wall Street Journal. He is married to Shailagh Murray who left a reporting job at the Washington Post to take the job of Joe Biden’s communications director. She replaced Jay Carney who moved to the White House and who himself leftTime to take the communications director role for Biden. 

John Harris of the Politico is married to an abortion rights activist who used to run NARAL Virginia. 

The Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent, Jonathan Allen, left the Politico to work for Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then returned to the Politico. 

Andy Barr of the Politico left the Politico to work for the Democratic National Committee and now works for Richard Carmona, the Democrats’ candidate for Senate in Arizona against Jeff Flake. 

George Stephanopolous of ABC News used to be a strategist for Bill Clinton and even after becoming Chief Washington Correspondent still engaged in regular conversations with Rahm Emanuel, James Carville, and Paul Begala from the Clinton days. 

(Ironic, isn’t it, that John Harris wrote that story) 

Michael Scherer of Time, where Jay Carney left to go to Joe Biden’s office, got his start in left wing publications, as did Ezra Klein of the Washington Post who famously created the left wing Journolist filled with Washington journalists and pundits to bounce around themes in the left wing echo chamber. 

Linda Douglass of ABC News left ABC to serve as Chief Propaganda Officer for the Obama White House in charge of getting Obamacare through. 

Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times made up the story about President George H. W. Bush being surprised and taken aback by a common supermarket check out scanner. The story was made up by Rosenthal who was not even present. Andrew Rosenthal is now the Editor of the New York Times Editorial Page. 

The BuzzFeed crew are mostly left of center, hang out with left of center reporters and pundits, and the media considers them and their cat GIFs the second coming of a supposedly objective Huffington Post. 

Chuck Todd himself is married to a former DNC staffer and he worked as a Democratic staffer to Senator Tom Harkin. He works with Chris Matthews who worked for a Democrat in Congress and Jimmy Carter.

IF THE MEDIA AND ACADEMY WEREN'T CONTROLLED BY THE LEFTISTS OF DEMOCRAT PARTY, THEN THEY'D POLL ABOUT 25%.

IF THE OBAMUNISTAS ARE DOING THIS KINDA CRAP NOW (VIDEO), WHAT WILL THEY DO ELECTION NIGHT WHEN MITT WINS!?!

I SHUDDER TO THINK.

SEE FOR YOURSELF.

CNN VIDEO: OBAMA CARES MORE ABOUT HIS OWN JOB AND BIG BIRD'S JOB THAN HE DOES ABOUT THE THE JOBLESS RECOVERY AND THE ANEMIC ECONOMY

Top aide of the former Brazilian President - and leftist icon - Lula, guilty of corruption

BBC:

The Supreme Court in Brazil has found a top aide of the former Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, guilty of corruption. 

Jose Dirceu, who was the president's chief of staff from 2003 to 2005, had been accused of setting up a scheme that used public funds to buy support from opposition parties in parliament.... The former head of President Lula's Workers Party, Jose Genoino, and its treasurer, Delubio Soares, were also convicted and are also facing a jail sentence. ... The former president is not implicated in the scandal.

THIS IS HOW THE LEFT OPERATES. THE LEFT'S SOP.

WHAT THEY DID IN BRAZIL WAS NOT SO DIFFERENT THAN HOW OBAMA PASSED OBAMACARE.

OBAMA BADABUM BUM

THE GREAT ED DRISCOLL OVER AT GLENN'S PLACE:

THE KILLER MUPPET: It Looks Like Carter All Over Again, Michael Ledeen writes. “Back then, the symbol of a failed president was a big rabbit.  Now, it’s a big bird.” 

RELATED: “The Republican National Committee points out that in the last few days, Obama has mentioned Big Bird eight times, and Elmo five — and Libya not at all.” 

Posted at 4:39 pm by Ed Driscoll   

MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE OPENING THEIR EYES AND SEEING THAT OBAMA IS A JOKE.

A JOKE WHOSE POLICIES FAILED.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

VOTE ROMNEY-RYAN.

HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SHOWS RECENT HOUSEHOLD SURVEY IS EITHER BOGUS OR A RIDICULOUS OUTLIER THAT SHOULD BE IGNORED

RANDALL HOVEN/TAT: 

But here is what I do think is suspicious: the raw employment level of the Household Survey. That number gets seasonally adjusted and then goes into the unemployment rate calculation. If that raw number is off, the unemployment rate will be off. And that number is certainly off if we judge by history.

• The August-to-September change, +775,000, was the largest upward Aug-Sep change in the history of the Household Survey.

• That was the largest difference between the Household Survey and the Establishment Survey (Aug-Sep change) in the history of the Household Survey.

• That was the only time ever that the Household Survey showed a greater increase in September than the Establishment Survey. 

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/why_septembers_unemployment_number_is_suspicious.html#ixzz28nlSUrgP

CLINT EASTWOOD HAS THE LAST LAUGH...

... AND THE LAST TWO WORDS:

THIS IS WHY ISLAM GAINS SUCH A LOW OPINION/RECEPTION

Trevor Thomas at the American Thinker gives some more insight to the Islamic world and just why's it's been so earning of the scorn it's received:

Illiteracy plagues the Arab world. About a third of those living in Arab countries cannot read. This includes about half of all women. There are fewer than 18 computers per 1,000 persons in the Arab world, compared to the global average of 78.3; and only 1.6 percent of Arabs use the internet.

In the 57 nations in the OIC, there are a total of about 500 universities. There are over 5,700 in the U.S. In just over 100 years, the Muslim world has produced nine Nobel laureates, while a mere 14 million Jews have produced 166. There are about 400 scientists and engineers per 1 million people in research and development in Arab countries, compared to about 4,000 per million people in North America.

Particularly disturbing, and most telling, as one examines Islam, is the role of women in Islamic society. Islamic law (sharia) prohibits women from looking men in the eye, forbids them from wearing shoes that make noise, and forbids them from becoming educated. As Ergun and Emir Caner note in Unveiling Islam, "women are considered possessions in any orthodox Islamic regime[.] ... The wife is considered the husband's sex object." Also, one of the most alarming admonitions in the Koran allows the husband to punish his wife physically.

Of the eight nations that the U.S. has placed on its State Sponsors of Terrorism list, 6 of them are Islamic regimes. Of the 16 nations the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has under its Country of Particular Concern designation, 11 are Islamic regimes (all of the others are differing authoritarian regimes, including North Korea, China, and Vietnam). Nice company, huh?

Interesting that their problems with illiteracy far exceed what you find in most other parts of the globe. That's practically a way that totalitarians can keep the public mindset in their grasp.

OBAMA'S HEADWINDS

SINCE OBAMA LEADS FROM BEHIND - AND HAS HIS HEAD UP HIS ASS, I THINK HIS HEADWINDS ARE REALLY JUST A BAD CASE OF GAS.

TOO BAD FOR US HE'S STINKING UP THE WHOLE FREE WORLD.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY:

VOTE ROMNEY-RYAN!

GREAT POSTER: ROMNEY'S FREE MARKET VERSUS OBAMA'S SOCIALISM

FORGOT WHERE IS SAW THIS:

GUARANTEED NOT HALAL: NEW SKYFALL BOND GIRL BERENICE MARLOHE

BERENICE MARLOHE.

THE NEW BOND GIRL IN SKYFALL.

SHE'S THE KIND OF WOMAN THE ISLAMISTS DEFACE WITH ACID, RAPE, AND KILL.

IF YOU LOVE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, THEN YOU MUST JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL JIHAD.

19 EGYPTIAN MILITARY KILLED IN SINAI

Nineteen members of the Egyptian security forces have been killed in an apparent car accident in the Sinai peninsula, state media report. 

The official Mena news agency said another six personnel had been injured in the incident, although state-run television reported 10 injuries. 

Egypt's military have been carrying out operations against Islamist militants in the Sinai, which borders Israel. 

It is not clear whether the incident is connected with the operations.

ACCIDENT!?!? SURE.

NYTIMES DECRIES "a jobs-for-votes culture that has defrauded the state and failed its citizens."

THEY ATTACK THE "jobs-for-votes culture that has defrauded the state and failed its citizens" IN SICILY AND ITALY:

 the problem goes well beyond corruption and cuts to the heart of the political systems of most of Southern Europe, in which politicians have traditionally offered citizens state-financed work in exchange for votes. 

“The problem here is political,” said Mr. Varano, as he looked out at Sicily across the Strait of Messina from Reggio Calabria. “Once the South was a reservoir of manpower, but in the ’70s, there was an exchange: It became a big reservoir of consensus,” he added, referring to the votes from Calabria that have helped every government of the last 25 years stay in power. 

To secure those votes, governments “needed to spend money, not for investment and development, but in a clientelistic way,” he said.

WHY DOESN'T THE NYTIMES COMDEMN THE SAME CORRUPT POLITICAL PRACTICES HERE IN DC?!? 

COULD IT BE BECAUSE IT'S LARGELY RUN BY THEIR PALS IN DEMOCRAT PARTY?!?!?

YES.

FACT: 

IT IS THE "JOBS FOR VOTES CULTURE" THAT BANKRUPTED THE EU AND THE USA - AND NOT BUSH TAX CUTS OR TWO "UNFUNDED" WARS.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

VOTE ROMNEY-RYAN.

UPDATE: THIS IS HOW THE SOCIALIST STATE-DEPENDENCY VOTE SCHEME WORKS IN SCOTLAND.